Disclaimer: HARRY POTTER, characters, names and related indicia are trademarks of Warner Brothers, copyright 2001. All characters belong to the fabulous J K Rowling. There is no money being made from this. I hope she and WB don't mind I borrowed these wonderful characters for a while. They needed to spread their wings a bit.
Thanks again to my fantastic beta team of Amy and Margherita… You guys are awesome!!!
Broken Wings
Chapter Two: Please… don't hate me
As the days went by, Pansy started getting better. By the beginning of August, she was spending most of the day with Charlie, learning about the care of dragons. The babies, as Charlie lovingly called them, had taken an immediate liking to Pansy, and she to them.
"You know, Charlie, when school starts it is going to difficult to call you Professor," she said, a slight blush crossing her cheeks as she sat on a bench near the corral the dragons were in.
"It will be strange hearing it. Makes me feel older than my 31 years," he admitted sadly as he reached out and stroked one of the dragons they had dubbed Smokey.
"I don't think you are old. I think you will bring a nice youthful change to the class. Sometimes, with Hagrid, it is a little ancient," she said, blushing even more.
"Well thank you, Pansy, for your vote of confidence. I hope the rest of the classes feel the same way. Now, if I can just survive my brother and his cohorts, I should do just fine," he said as Pansy got up to stroke the dragon too. But as she got up she lost her balance. Having quick reflexes, Charlie reached out and caught her before she hit the ground.
"Pansy, are you all right?" he asked, concerned over her pallor and dizziness as he lowered her back to the bench.
"Yes, I'm fine," she replied, annoyed that she was making a complete fool of herself.
"You didn't eat did you?" he accused gently.
"No."
"You know that if Madam Pomfrey finds out she won't let you out of the hospital wing. When was the last time you ate?" he asked, standing up with his hands on his hips in mock outrage.
"Lunch… yesterday, I think," she mumbled, rolling her eyes in exasperation.
"That's it. Come with me," he demanded as he took her hand, pulling her to her feet.
"You are going to tell her aren't you?" she asked downheartedly.
"Are you nutters? No. We are going to the kitchens to get a picnic and then coming back here to dine with the babies," he informed her happily.
"Oh," she laughed, "that sounds lovely. What a wonderful idea."
This time it was Charlie's turn to blush.
~~*~~
Later that night, Albus called Charlie and Severus to his office to meet on Pansy's progress.
"So, how is Miss Parkinson doing Charlie?" asked Albus as Charlie sat down, taking the seat next to Severus.
"She is talking more and she has been a lot of help with the babies. They really have taken to her," Charlie commented, feeling proud of her progress.
"Excellent. And has she been taking her potion every night?" inquired Severus.
"Yes. I tried to persuade her on more than one occasion to try to sleep without it but she is still too frightened to try. I know that we have to take her off soon," confessed Charlie, looking at Severus' frown.
"I think it should be tonight," said Albus, getting up from his chair to walk to the fireplace. "The other students will be arriving in the next few weeks and she will have to move out of the hospital wing and back into her dormitory."
"She will need someone with her the first few nights," insisted Charlie. "Just in case the nightmares start again."
"I will stay with her," decided Severus. "She is in my house and I think I need to be the one there for her."
"But I think I should be the one. She feels comfortable with me. We have a great rapport," Charlie declared firmly.
"Now see here Weasley, Pansy is a Slytherin and I think it should be me, the Potions Master to be with her… unless you and her are… shall I say…closer than you want us to know," Severus spat venomously.
Charlie jumped to his feet growling. "There is nothing going on between Miss Parkinson and me. How dare you insinuate otherwise. I have NEVER said or done anything inappropriate to her. You have no grounds to say something like you son of a bitch."
"Gentlemen," interrupted Albus rather loudly. "That is quite enough. Severus. I cannot believe you just accused Charlie of such behavior. What has gotten into you? Charlie was only doing what I asked him to and that was to help her though a very difficult time," he reprimanded Severus as he returned to his chair. "Also, Charlie, there is no need for that kind of expletives towards another Professor," the Headmaster scolded, making Charlie feel like a student again. "Now, I think it will be of best interest… to Pansy… if you both were there. Charlie, for your moral support, and you, Severus for your potions expertise. Pansy doesn't need anyone fighting over her either. I think it best that you two get your animosities out of your systems here and now before I send you to her. She is a very intuitive young woman and will pick up on any hostility you are feeling. Do I make myself clear?" he asked, looking from one to the other as they squared in their seats, both feeling soundly chastised by the Headmaster.
"Yes Headmaster," Severus said grumpily as he turned to look at Charlie. "I just don't think that Mr. Weasley…"
"Professor Weasley," corrected Albus.
"Fine. Professor Weasley," Severus said sarcastically through gritted teeth, " I just don't think that he understands enough about Slytherins and the Dark Arts to be effective if anything were to happen…"
"That is why I want you there, Severus. However, I don't want her feeling any pressure with you two Neanderthals hovering about. Severus, you are to sit quietly under an invisibility spell…"
"But Headmaster, I must protest… an invisibility spell? How can you ask…" demanded Severus.
"I can ask because you are a dear friend and I believe that Pansy will feel more comfortable if she doesn't know you are there. She doesn't need an audience watching her sleep," he explained gently, not wanting Severus to be feeling any worse than he already did. "Severus," Albus said as he reached over and patted his arm, "it is important for her to feel at ease now. It will be bad enough when the rest of the students come. You know as well as I do that you are going to be needed more then than you are right now. You know how the Slytherins are… very brutal."
"I see your point. I will do what you ask," he agreed.
"Without any more argument?" Albus queried.
"Yes."
~~*~~
After dinner, Charlie and Albus went to see Pansy, followed by a still disgruntled, yet invisible Severus.
"Good evening, Miss Parkinson. How are you doing?" Albus asked, his eyes twinkling.
"I don't get the potion tonight, do I?" she asked as she sank down on her bed in defeat.
"I believe that it is time to take you off of it. You will not be able to take it when school starts," Albus explained tenderly as Pansy's eyes filled with tears.
"But… I… the nightmares. Please, I am afraid… I," she stammered, fighting the tears to keep them from falling.
Charlie reached out and gently placed a hand on her sagging shoulder, offering comfort. "I'll be here through the night. I think you will be just fine," Charlie said softly, trying to comfort her.
Pansy nodded. As she looked up into his warm eyes she begged, "Just please don't leave me."
"I won't," he vowed.
"Okay, this I agree to. Like I had a choice anyway," she continued sarcastically.
"It needs to be done, Miss Parkinson," warned Albus a little firmly.
"I know, Sir, I'm sorry. I don't mean to sound disrespectful."
"Quite all right my dear. Well, I'm off to bed," he announced as he turned to Charlie. "If you need anything, you know what to do," Albus said cryptically.
"Yes, Headmaster."
"Well, night then. I will see you in the morning… goodnight," Albus offered as he made his way to the door.
"Night Professor, and thanks again," Pansy said, sighing deeply, knowing it was going to be a very long night.
~~*~~
After playing chess for hours, during which Pansy beat the stuffing out of Charlie, Pansy started to yawn.
"Why don't we call it a night?" Charlie suggested, stifling a yawn himself.
"Yeah, I guess I can't stop the inevitable. You aren't going to leave me, correct?" Pansy asked, the strain of the night worrying her features.
Charlie sat down on the bed next to her and took her hands in his. "I promise. I will be here all night, right over there on that other bed and Madam Pomfrey is in her office. You won't be alone," Charlie assured her as he gently squeezed her hands, releasing them quickly.
Pansy lay down in her bed, pulling the covers up like a nervous child would. "Okay then, I'll see you in the morning. Goodnight Charlie."
"Goodnight. Pleasant dreams."
This made Pansy smile as she snuggled further into her bed, falling asleep almost immediately.
Charlie sat on his bed, pulled out his book and before long, he too was asleep.
A few hours later, Charlie woke to the sound of Pansy's restless movements. Suddenly, Pansy sat bolt upright in the bed, dripping in sweat and screaming a piercing scream. Charlie was at her side in an instant, gathering her into his arms.
"Pansy, what happened? You remembered the dream this time, didn't you?" he asked, trying to comfort the hysterical young woman.
"Yes… Oh God, I remember…" she sobbed, pulling away from him, feeling sick to her stomach.
"What did you see? What was so bad that it causes these horrific nightmares?" he prodded gently, trying to get her to tell.
Rocking back and forth, holding her stomach she begged, "please… don't make me tell. You will hate me and I couldn't bear that," she confessed.
"Pansy, there is nothing you could do to make me hate you," Charlie assured her gently.
"Yes, there is… if I tell you… you will hate me and think me a monster…" she sobbed again, tears running unchecked down her cheeks.
"Pansy, you have to tell someone or we can't fix it…"
"You can't fix this… ever."
"Please… let me help you," he insisted.
Pansy looked to the ceiling, tears falling heavy from her eyes as she spoke in a flat, dead tone.
"The night was dark but the fires set were casting an eerie glow on everything. The little girl... her eyes pleaded with me every time my mother threw the curse at her... She screamed so loud... She was losing her mind with the pain… Oh God, she was only about six," Pansy sobbed, putting her head down, and mumbled shakily, "I... killed her. I used... the unforgivable curse on her..."
Charlie sat staring at Pansy, looking horrified. After a minutes he finally had the courage to speak. He moved closer to her and whispered, "Pansy, look at me."
Pansy slowly looked up to see the face of a haunted man. As his own tears gathered, Charlie started to speak softly.
"When I was ten, I had a little sister named Laura. She was the most beautiful, loving creature, in my opinion, in the whole world. She was my baby sister. Well, one day during the height of Voldemort's reign, she went into the village to visit her muggle friend. My parents thought that she would be safe. When it was time to get her, they sent me to fetch her from her friends. That was the first time I ever saw the Dark Mark. There, over the house, was the mark. I ran inside the house to find all its occupants dead, silent screams etched on their faces, but my sister wasn't there. I ran into the yard, calling her name. I ran and ran, finally tripping on something, falling to the ground hard. When I looked to see why I had fallen, I nearly died…" Charlie paused, trying to gather the strength to go on, "I fell over Laura, or should I say… what was left of her naked, battered little body…"
Pansy's hand flew to her mouth in horror. "Oh Charlie…"
"You see, one of the Death Eaters had… a thing for redheads… by the time… he was done…" Charlie couldn't continue as his tears ran down his face. After a moment, Charlie cleared his throat and said softly, taking her face gently in his hands. Pansy slowly looked him in the eyes as he began to speak.
"I think what you did took more courage than anything… anything anyone has ever done. I wish someone had been strong like you and cast the Killing Curse on my Laura. She didn't die from a curse… she slowly bled to death after her tiny body was nearly torn apart by that savage Death Eater. If I ever find out who it was… I swear I will kill him," Charlie vowed as his body started to shake. Pansy gathered him to her and held him until the tremors stopped. After a few minutes, Charlie started to speak again as Pansy continued to hold him. "My Mum to this day, thinks that Laura died peacefully from the killing curse. My dad knows and so does Bill. So you see Pansy, you did that child a wonderful favor. You saved her from an unspeakable end. You, in my opinion, are a hero."
Pansy was stunned. "You don't hate me? I could go to Azkaban for this," she answered fearfully.
"No one but those in this room and Dumbledore need ever know. You will not be going to Azkaban. I promise," Charlie vowed, trying to comfort the panicking young woman.
They sat in silence for a little while, both engrossed in their own thoughts about the events in their lives that had brought them to this juncture.
When the silence was broken, Pansy was the first to speak.
"Charlie, I'm scared. What am I going to do when school starts? The Slytherins are going to know what happened over the summer and they are going to kill me… literally," she continued nervously, her voice once again becoming shaky.
"You will act the same as always. Not everyone will know. I doubt they want it known that you abandoned Voldemort. He doesn't like to advertise people that have left him. He, from what I understand, likes to take things of this nature into his own hands. You are safe here," he assured her again.
"You want me to act the same as always… I can't. I'm not the same person I was. I never want to be that Pansy again."
"Then we will go to Professors Dumbledore and Snape. I am sure they will have some suggestions on how to handle the situation," Charlie said, noting that Pansy's eyes had started to droop. "Why don't you try and get some more sleep?"
"You won't leave me, will you?" Pansy asked as she lay back on her bed.
"No, I will be right here. Now, get some sleep and I will see you in the morning." Charlie said as he settled back down into his chair, picking up a book to read.
"Thanks Charlie. And to think how priggish I was when I first met you. Insulting you the way I did. I am truly sorry about that," Pansy said, looking away in embarrassment.
"Already forgotten. Now get to sleep."
A little while later, after he was sure Pansy was asleep, Severus gently touched Charlie's arm, nearly scaring him to death and whispered, "I need to go and see the Headmaster. I will be back in a while."
Charlie nodded in acknowledgement as Severus left the room.
Severus walked down the hall a bit before removing the invisibility charm. Reaching Professor Dumbledore's office, he explained everything that had taken place. Albus sat, soaking in all the information. "There is more isn't there, Severus?"
Severus looked blankly at the Headmaster and in a toneless whisper replied, "Albus, I know who killed Charlie's little sister."
A/N: My goodness, you guys are wonderful. The Thank You section is as follows…
Queen of Kansas, p3fairy, Strega Brava, Spazzer Monkey, arianna spellcaster, Beth Brownell, trowa barton, Shadow, Peaceful Storm, PhoenixTears, Hermione Malfoy, Rah, Emily, Mionee, Tory and Villian. Thanks so much for reading and please review this chapter too… I love hearing from everyone.
